Tag: brad poorman

This week, the population of the BIMS labs has shifted from students to construction workers as demolition gets underway. The project is a multi-stage event: demolition, asbestos abatement, infrastructure improvements, construction, installation of cabinets and furniture and equipment, and resupply of the spaces with materials for teaching and research. We are at step 1 and need everything done by August 15 or so. Within two weeks, we will be past asbestos abatement and on to the infrastructure changes. Before long, new walls will define the new configuration of spaces and the finish work of installing cabinets and floors and equipment will begin.

We are ahead of schedule in some ways. Labs got packed and moved well ahead of schedule. Crews made rapid progress in the removal of casework and lab benches yesterday. These photos don’t show halls lined with cabinets that will be recycled in other locales or the pipes and wires that are being removed to be repositioned and replaced. There’s no turning back now! Still, much is left to be decided with some key bids still outstanding. Architect Rick Weatherl and McMurry Vice President over facilities Brad Poorman will have their hands full, as the science renovation is one of at least half a dozen projects to be accomplished on campus this summer, from updates in the apartments to improvements to the Radford Social Hall and others scattered across campus.

As far as science labs go, plenty has to happen between now and mid-August when we move in to prepare for the fall semester. Pray for fair bids, timely delivery, no construction delays, and safety for all involved!

BIMS faculty met last week with our VP in charge of facilities (Brad Poorman) and campus architect (Rick Weatherl) to discuss preliminary plans for this summer’s BIMS lab renovation. Mainly, the meeting was to determine whether the rough layout of spaces as proposed would accommodate the course and program needs.

The layout calls for two labs to fit in the space where the freshman biology, microbiology, and student research lab behind Dr.Beasley’s office are now located. Going into those spaces would be a molecular lab, the micro lab, and between them would be a student project room where the microscopes, incubators, refrigerators/freezers, and other equipment would be found. The intent is for this space to become the place students go to check their results and do off-hours work on projects. By moving these functions out of the labs themselves, students can do their follow-up work while other classes are in session in the labs. Since our courses are becoming more research oriented, this move will allow extended student involvement in research projects instead of corralling those activities into three hour blocks once a week. Labs will also be made more lecture-friendly so that both lab and lecture can take place in the same location – moving in and out of lab and lecture functions seamlessly will now be possible. More flexibility, more utility will result from these modifications.

Other first-floor spaces will also be affected. The prep area and S108 classroom (where Biology lectures are frequently taught) will house an upgraded prep area and an instrumentation room for our research microscopes, DNA sequencer, and other specialized equipment. The freshman lab will be moved to the current location for the molecular lab (S115), which will be expanded and feature more storage space. These changes will make the BIMS and freshman labs and support areas the showcase on campus for what all science facilities will some day feature – thoughtful, flexible, and student-friendly spaces for engaging students in learning and practicing science for the 21st Century.

Last summer, I wrote about the lab renovation competition to be held this fall. The main spaces delivering BIMS programming – labs for molecular- and genetics-based courses and for microbiology- and immunology-based courses – were selected for renovation. The goal was to use the renovation event as a way of freeing programs from the confines of their spaces so that the programs define the spaces instead of the spaces defining the programs. This post represents something of an update on where things stand.

McMurry VP Brad Poorman oversees facilities and is working closely with local architect Rick Weatherl to define and plan the scope of the project. BIMS faculty have a general idea of what they want to see in the spaces being planned, and Brad and Rick are the ones to figure out where and how that will be done. Our recommendation is to have experts in lab design brought in as “subcontractors” to insure sufficient experience and expertise are available to guide them and us. Below are some general specifications for building great spaces that are flexible and functional and support science as BIMS plans to teach it in the future.

The main labs will be dual purpose, for teaching lectures and for teaching labs. They will comfortably seat around 20 students, with an emphasis on comfort so that lectures in these rooms are the norm and not the exception. Much of the actual hands-on work will be done around the periphery of the room, where utilities and equipment are found. The structure is such that non-BIMS courses could be taught in the lab by closing off access to the peripheral spaces. Such features make these labs true dual-purpose spaces, where lectures and labs are taught as the need arises.

Adjacent to the main labs (and through doors that can seal off access when not desired), incubation and project spaces will allow students to check on their results and continue on projects without bothering other classes being taught in the main labs. When doors between them are open, students use those project spaces for their incubation, for storage of some equipment, and for setting up their projects. Supplies and media needed by students will be placed here after being prepared in the Prep Kitchen. When doors are closed, the incubation and project spaces are separated so two populations of students can work without interrupting one another. These spaces also will support student and faculty research projects, which now must be done in the teaching labs due to lack of space.

New Prep Kitchen spaces. BIMS labs require a great deal of preparation, and having adequate space for that work is essential. Much of it now is accomplished in a teaching lab, and the kitchen cannot be accessed without traveling through a teaching lab. There will also be adequate storage of consumables for the courses.

Shared major instrument room. Some pieces of equipment are used rarely in teaching normal classes, but are occasionally used by individuals in a variety of courses. Such pieces of equipment would be located in an instrument room shared by the BIMS labs. The LI-COR DNA analyzer and other equipment used in the research done by students and faculty would be moved from teaching labs (where now housed) to a more appropriate spot. Because the instrument room will be connected with student project setup areas, those students working on research projects will have ready access when such equipment is needed.

This model, concentric circles of spaces – (1) teaching labs, (2) student project/incubation/supplies spaces, and (3) Prep Kitchen/storage and major instrumentation room – promises to bring McMurry appropriate activities taking place in appropriate spaces, allowing appropriate access to students and research opportunities for all. The spaces are not based on individuals or courses, but on shared activities undertaken as we teach our students and involve them in our research. Right for today and flexible for the future, these labs promise to be the standard by which future lab renovations are compared.

Construction should begin in May, with a goal of moving in by the start of classes in August. My advice? Come to Homecoming 2010, when we anticipate the new labs to be dedicated!